Questions about my BMR

KelBelz22

I guess I just don't understand what a BMR is but supposidly for my weight and height I'm supposed to being eating around 1880 calories a day. I eat wayyy under that daily. I eat around 1200 a day plus most of what I burn from working out. I don't get hungry anymore. So I guess I'm curious how I'm supposed to try and up my intake 600 calories?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

geekyjock76

The human body requires a certain amount of energy, in the form of calories, to maintain present body weight relative to activity. For example, I require 2950 calories to maintain my weight by being lightly active (work) and lifting five times a week. This 2950 calorie amount is the sum of four components in which the body uses energy - the largest being my Resting Metabolic Rate (or BMR). My RMR is 1809, which means RMR assumes 61% of my total energy needs. RMR is the amount of energy your body needs to maintain the most basic physiological functions when awake and at rest.

It's usually recommended that your net be close to or above your RMR, although persons who have lots of fat mass to lose can net slightly lower since the excess fat mass will make up the deficit below RMR.

Regarding your sense of hunger, two things contribute to that.

First, leptin, the master hormone which regulates energy balance by means of satiety (but also affects other hormones), declines while restricting calories below maintenance. When leptin values lower considerably due to chronic calorie restriction, your hunger cues eventually become unreliable and you start feeling full when eating less calories than what your body actually needs. In other words, your body is getting a false confirmation.

Accompanied with a reduction in leptin is a declining RMR during restriction. Since you are making less energy available to the body, it adapts and slows down specific process. Because your body now needs less energy, your total energy needs decreases.

Leptin and RMR will always drop during restriction. However, if a person only eats when hungry, the false confirmation signals will lead people to consume less calories than their adjusted total daily energy needs.

You'll get different advice, but before anyone reduces calories or drastically ups exercise, they should establish what their TDEE needs are by eating the maximum amount of calories to maintain their present weight. From there, they can make the proper deficit and eat less. This deficit can be larger the more fat mass a person has and wishes to lose.